I haven't been able to figure out why most people have trucks. They don't do anything with them that you couldn't do with a car. They're not hauling big loads of anything. They're not driving in rough terrain. On the weekdays, they're driving to work in the morning and back home in the evening. On the weekends, they're driving down to Target to get the coming week's groceries and usually taking up two spaces because they're so damned big. Growing up, I always thought of a truck as a work vehicle. My stepdad had a truck because he was a carpenter and used it to haul supplies out to jobs. Everyone else that I knew just had a car. Now it seems like there are more trucks on the road than there are cars. The reason that truck beds are shrinking down is because more and more, people are treating trucks like passenger vehicles. They need back seat room for passengers and it would now be considered child abuse to just throw them in the bed like they did when I was a kid.

^ Same with SUV. Sports Utility Vehicle. Not Yuppiemobile. No more than two people have been inside most people's SUVs since they took a test drive at the dealer or showed off the latest acquisition to family and friends. And that's just the people, no tools or sports equipment is ever hauled in said SUV.

What really pisses me off (Hey, maybe I should post this in the What Pisses You Off thread) is the idiots who drive these and can't maneuver their vehicle in and out of parking spaces, drive through parking lots, or grab a parking spot on the street. No, it has to be a five-minute affair where everyone else has to wait for some prissy bitch to get it together.

The flatbeds in trucks get smaller and smaller because no one uses them! Pretty soon there'll be just enough room to haul your Chihuahua in the back, tethered down for safety of course.

I have a CR-V that I purchased back in 2007. It's served me well for hauling my groceries back and forth each week and taking my cats to the vet. There's just two of us, and I'm not sure if anyone other than the mother in law has been in the back seat. Calling it an SUV is probably an insult to real SUVs everywhere. There's nothing sporty about it. There's not much utility to it. It is a vehicle. It only has a towing capacity of 1500 pounds or some other ridiculously small amount. I had a towing thingy put on it when I moved across the country and then figured out that I wouldn't be able to tow anything. I definitely wouldn't take it off road on purpose. It is basically a station wagon.

My mother in law has a much newer CR-V and it has all of the bells and whistles and doodads and cameras and collision avoidance. Driving it made me feel like my car was something from the 70s. I only put about 20 miles per week on it, so I'm going to keep it forever.

I just sold my 2001 GMC Jimmy. 80.000 miles. Rust started to eat every thing under the vehicle. Eventually other problems were about to occur. Upgraded to a 2018 Chevy Equinox. More bells and whistles, but I miss the JImmy's simplicity.

They are just HANDY! When you need one...…………. you NEED one...…………… But haul all that metal around all day empty? What a waste...………...

True. There's been a small number of times in the last 20 years where I've wished that I had access to a truck. A couple of years ago, I retired my antique, failing TV and bought one that is 65". I could have used a truck. Instead, I had Best Buy deliver and install it. There's been a couple of times where I wanted to take a large haul down to the landfill but have had to make a few trips instead.

This very annoying commercial is an example of how trucks have become luxury vehicles instead of, um, trucks.

And good luck getting this monster into a normal sized parking space anywhere.

They are just HANDY! When you need one...…………. you NEED one...…………… But haul all that metal around all day empty? What a waste...………...

True. There's been a small number of times in the last 20 years where I've wished that I had access to a truck. A couple of years ago, I retired my antique, failing TV and bought one that is 65". I could have used a truck. Instead, I had Best Buy deliver and install it. There's been a couple of times where I wanted to take a large haul down to the landfill but have had to make a few trips instead.

This very annoying commercial is an example of how trucks have become luxury vehicles instead of, um, trucks.

And good luck getting this monster into a normal sized parking space anywhere.

And imagine how many thousands of dollars it will cost to repair or replace it when it inevitably breaks.

IF you can find one. Once the novelty wears off, they will go the way of the horse and buggy and you'll have to search landfills and junk yards to buy one. Or craigslist. They will conveniently be Out Of Stock for months on end until you give up, sell your POS fancy dancy SUV, and BUY ANOTHER! Dealers are standing by right now to give you a trade-in quote.

Personally, I've still an old Caddy dry-stored that I haven't driven in years (once posted a photo of Missus & self the last time I pulled it out for an anniversary evening and I plan on dumping it). All the other cars have been disposed of as there is a small fleet of my folk's cars here that I use local. If I plan to drive a distance, I rent. If I want a truck, I rent...and the last time I rented a truck was probably 20 years ago. I've found no reason to constantly financially bleed on a monthly basis. Also, with the advent of AI and driver-vehicles (coming rapidly), who needs another costly boat anchor unless the desire is to 'keep up with the Joneses' or living way off 'the grid'? No way on earth would I even consider financing a vehicle - own it outright or use public transport, whenever possible...but have a realistic, hopefully tested, plan and backup plan for emergency situations.

For those thinking of purchasing a new vehicle, consider the direction of the company that manufactures the desired vehicle. Say...FORD (Chrysler already has started in this direction...so, how long for Chevy?).

To quote Fortune Magazine the other day:

In a statement, Ford said it won’t invest in new generations of sedans for the North American market, eventually reducing its car lineup to the Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year. By 2020, almost 90 percent of its portfolio in the region will be pickups, SUVs and commercial vehicles, the company said.

Again, life is going to change and there is nothing you can do about it. The AI/Driver-less transportation environment ('The Jetsons') will radically change many facets of life and how things get done and who goes to who or where, especially the simple things in life., especially given 40% of what we do should be displaced by automation. Many more families will exist on government-managed fixed-incomes (a phenomena already occurring across the Atlantic and Pacific) and sure won't need fossil fuel guzzlers and probably won't be able to afford personal electric vehicles. Oh yea. Did anyone say 'Auto insurance'? What about companies like GEICO, or Progressive?

X <sig.nature>"What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike

I haven't been able to figure out why most people have trucks. They don't do anything with them that you couldn't do with a car. They're not hauling big loads of anything. They're not driving in rough terrain. On the weekdays, they're driving to work in the morning and back home in the evening. On the weekends, they're driving down to Target to get the coming week's groceries and usually taking up two spaces because they're so damned big. Growing up, I always thought of a truck as a work vehicle. My stepdad had a truck because he was a carpenter and used it to haul supplies out to jobs. Everyone else that I knew just had a car. Now it seems like there are more trucks on the road than there are cars. The reason that truck beds are shrinking down is because more and more, people are treating trucks like passenger vehicles. They need back seat room for passengers and it would now be considered child abuse to just throw them in the bed like they did when I was a kid.

not to cast aspersions at the truck drivers of Mericka BUT..many of them are backwards capped redneck D-BAGS who race you to the RED LIGHT

I agree with much of what u say, but here in AZ the redneck quotient is super high as is the POOL GUY and construction worker aspect--hence a crapload of TRUKS

I haven't been able to figure out why most people have trucks. They don't do anything with them that you couldn't do with a car. They're not hauling big loads of anything. They're not driving in rough terrain. On the weekdays, they're driving to work in the morning and back home in the evening. On the weekends, they're driving down to Target to get the coming week's groceries and usually taking up two spaces because they're so damned big. Growing up, I always thought of a truck as a work vehicle. My stepdad had a truck because he was a carpenter and used it to haul supplies out to jobs. Everyone else that I knew just had a car. Now it seems like there are more trucks on the road than there are cars. The reason that truck beds are shrinking down is because more and more, people are treating trucks like passenger vehicles. They need back seat room for passengers and it would now be considered child abuse to just throw them in the bed like they did when I was a kid.

not to cast aspersions at the truck drivers of Mericka BUT..many of them are backwards capped redneck D-BAGS who race you to the RED LIGHT

I agree with much of what u say, but here in AZ the redneck quotient is super high as is the POOL GUY and construction worker aspect--hence a crapload of TRUKS

HA i lived in CO for over 8 years--yes AZ & CO very similar--its like we lived in UT for 18 years and moved to AZ and i forgot how many people SMOKED--its kinda that way in CO but i guess its rolled over to more weedy pursuits

HA i lived in CO for over 8 years--yes AZ & CO very similar--its like we lived in UT for 18 years and moved to AZ and i forgot how many people SMOKED--its kinda that way in CO but i guess its rolled over to more weedy pursuits

Not sure how long ago you lived here, but it hasn't changed much. I think that CO is just AZ without as much cactus and about 30 degrees cooler. I come from Illinois. It's more different here than I thought it would be. 5 years in and I am still not used to it. After 5 years, what are the chances that I will get used to it?

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